


Playing House

by Kaunis_Sielu



Category: Criminal Minds (US TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-11
Updated: 2017-12-11
Packaged: 2019-02-13 11:59:20
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 12
Words: 7,411
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12983604
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kaunis_Sielu/pseuds/Kaunis_Sielu
Summary: You and Hotch have to go undercover as a married couple to catch the UnSub





	1. Chapter 1

“Hotch are you sure this is the only way to get the UnSubs?” You sigh dropping your suitcase on the bed.   
“Yes. It’s not going to be that bad Charlie.” he laughs.   
“Easy for you to say,” you flop back onto the bed, “you get to be Mr. Hotshot lawyer again. I have to play pretty little wifey who laughs at all your lame jokes.”  
“Hey! My jokes are not lame. They’re funny!”  
“I think you protest too much.” you sing at him and he throws a pillow at you. You groan as it hits you square in the face.  
“Why couldn’t JJ do this?” You ask sitting up and looking over at him.   
“She has kids, and a real husband.” He shoots you an annoyed look, “I’m not that bad am I?”  
“No! Don’t do that. You know that’s not what I mean. It’s just working 24/7, playing house, it’s weird. It’s not really what we do.”  
“It’ll be fun. Here.” He passes you a black velvet box and when you open it you find a wedding ring.   
“Wow Hotch. Great proposal.” you deadpan and he laughs.   
“Remember we’re the O'Brian’s. Aaron and Charlotte O'Brian.”  
“I wouldn’t change my name.” You comment turning the ring in the light watching as it sparkles.   
“Why not?”   
“I know who Charlotte Hooper is.”  
“Just because you change your name doesn’t mean you change who you are.” he’s still putting clothes away. You haven’t moved off the bed.   
“I know. But I’ve spent my whole life identifying as Charlotte Hooper. I know her. I don’t know this Charlotte O'Brian character is. Does she have a southern accent?”  
“She better not.”  
“Why not ya’ll?” you ask in your worst accent causing Aaron to laugh.   
“You know exactly why not.”  
“Fine,” you huff, “at least let me have a degree in something mildly useful from college so I don’t sound like an idiot.”  
“Here,” Aaron digs a file folder out of his bag, “this is the background they made for you.” You pop it open and start to read. Charlotte O'Brian, they’ve used your real birthday which is nice, your background isn’t here isn’t much different than your real background. College at Michigan State, a bachelors in broadcast media and an associates in sociology. You’ve been married to one Aaron O'Brian for six years. No kids, no pets, no family close by, the perfect targets. Thank god Aaron is your best friend or you might go crazy alone with him.


	2. Chapter 2

Aaron convinces you to unpack and that’s when you realize. There’s only one bed. As you think about it you come to the conclusion that as long as he doesn’t sleep in just his underwear you’ll be fine. You’re shoving clothing into drawers when the doorbell rings.  
“Ring on.” Aaron says as he passes you to go to the door.   
“It is. How did you know what size I needed?”   
“Educated guess.” He laughs as you narrow your eyes at him. “I had JJ size your moms ring that you wear.”  
“Sneaky.” You chuckle and then he opens the door.   
“Hi! I’m Sue.” A petite blonde woman says, a giant smile on her face, “Sue Jacobson. I live three doors down.” She looks Aaron up and down quickly, “you don’t live all by your lonesome do you?” she asks looking concerned.   
“No, no I live here with my wife Charlotte.” You come into the room, “Hey Aaron,” you act like you’ve just seen Sue then and smile.  
“Oh, hi I’m Charlotte, Aaron’s wife.”   
“I’m Sue Jacobson. I live three doors down. We all saw the moving vans and just had to know who was moving in. We like to give the new families a little gift. Here are two gift cards to the two most popular restaurants in the area.” she beams over at you passing them to Aaron. “Any kids?”  
“No.” You say wrapping your arm around Aaron’s. “It’s just us.” She notices your claim on Aaron and her smile looses some of its brightness, strange. “Why don’t you come in?” you step out of the doorway and she does.   
“It looks great in here.” She says while glancing around the open space. The FBI had furnished it for you, most of the furniture was rented. “What do the two of you do for a living?”  
“I’m a lawyer,” Aaron says, “and Charlotte does a lot of charity work.”  
“Oh! It’s so great to hear that! I’ve been looking for new people for our Kids Club, with a ‘k’ of course.” she giggles, “would you be interested?”  
“What kind of work do you do? Obviously it’s with kids but how do you help them out?”  
“After school sessions, we help with homework, make sure they get good meals, do crafts. Whatever we can do for those poor moms that can’t be there.” She feigns pity, “we’re so fortunate that we have good hard working men to support us.” You plaster a smile on your face and nod. You’re going to vomit, sometimes being a woman sucks.


	3. Chapter 3

After Sue leaves and the door is shut you turn to Aaron.   
“Do you have your gun?” you ask worried.  
“Yes?”  
“Shoot. Me.” You groan dropping your forehead to his chest. He laughs and rubs your arms.   
“She was nice enough.” he offers.   
“Hot-Aaron.” You correct yourself, “she was hitting on you. That woman was faker than Kim Kardashian’s ass.” Aaron barks out a laugh, and you can’t help but smile.   
“What do you want to do for dinner?” he changes the subject.   
“Pizza?”   
“Alright.” You don’t have to tell him what you like, the two of you, and Jack, have ordered more pizza in your life time than an army could eat. You go finish unpacking and just as you’re finishing the doorbell rings again.   
“I’ll get it!” You call picking up your purse and moving to the door. You pop it open but it’s not the pizza delivery person like you thought it would be. “Oh hello.”  
“Hi! My name is Tanya Parks. I live across the street with my husband. He said that your husband was going to be working at his firm. We’d love to have you two over for dinner tomorrow night.”  
“That should be fine. Let me double check with Aaron. Oh, I’m Charlotte by the way. Why don’t you come on in while I go check with him?”   
“Oh no that’s alright I don’t want to intrude.” She says just as Aaron comes around the corner.   
“Whose this?”  
“Aaron this is Tanya Parks. You’re going to be working with her husband.”  
“Greg.” She supplies. “We live across the street.”   
“They’ve invited us to dinner tomorrow night.”  
“Sounds great.”   
“Do you have any kids?”  
“No. Aaron wanted them but I can’t.” You say sadly. This isn’t in the file but is actually true, it was one of the reasons you loved Jack so much. You normally don’t tell people but every time someone asks if you have kids you see Aaron’s expression change for half a second. You know how much he misses Jack.   
“I’m so sorry.” She says softly and Aaron’s hand gently rests on your back, he already knew, he also knows how hard it is for you. The pizza delivery man pulls up then and Tanya takes the opportunity to say goodbye and that she’ll see you tomorrow at 6.   
“You didn’t have to do that.” Aaron says softly after paying for the pizza.   
“It’s fine.” You say softly, “now people will quit asking.”   
“What do you mean?”  
“Gossip in a neighborhood like this moves fast. It’s basically it’s own sociological environment. Sue and Tanya are definitely alpha ladies in the development so that means their husbands are too.” You’re standing at the fridge looking but not seeing when Aaron reaches over and pulls you into a hug, you close your eyes and relax into him. When he pulls away you smile up at him then pull the milk from the fridge. Too bad the FBI didn’t bring you any chocolate syrup.


	4. Chapter 4

You don’t have any other visitors that night, you’re thankful for that. It’s not that you don’t want to or need to meet the neighbors it’s just that you’d like to settle in a little bit more before you have the whole street over. Aaron went to FaceTime with Jack and had invited you to join him but you had declined. Sometimes it needed to be just the boys. You had gone to the living room and switched on the tv. You were sprawled across the couch absently flipping through channels. You find an old rerun of Full House and leave it there, mindless background noise. Aaron comes downstairs a few minutes later. He picks up your feet and sits down then put your feet in his lap.   
“Your feet are freezing.” He comments as he wraps his hands around your bare toes.   
“They always are.” You let out a soft sigh as the heat from his hands envelope your feet.   
“The UnSubs typically strike within two weeks of the couple moving in. You think you can handle being Mrs. O'Brian for that long?”  
“Yea. Although I’d much prefer Ms. if you don’t mind.”  
“You little feminist you.” he chuckles as you wrinkle your nose at him.   
“Sorry I don’t think that my value should be based on my husband.” You pick up the remote again and continue to scroll through the channels.   
“I didn’t mean it as an insult,” Aaron says softly, “it’s one of the things I like about you. And it’s good for Jack to see, that women should be respected but treated equally.”   
“Thanks, how is Jack?”  
“Good. Wanted to know why you didn’t come say hi.”  
“I will tomorrow,” you promise, “we should probably say he’s our nephew. You know in case one of us mention him.”  
“Oh good point.” He runs a finger up the arch of your foot and you jerk with a small squeal. “Oooh, someone is ticklish.” He grins evilly over at you.   
“Oh no.” You groan and he laughs.

Aaron gets home around 5:15 the next night. You met more neighbors, got information about the local charity groups and learned where the nearest churches were. All places that you and Aaron could become targets of the UnSub.   
“Hey,” you greet him as he drops his briefcase onto the floor by the door. “How was work?”  
“Good. It’s weird being back in lawyer mode. What did you do today?” You deposit around two dozen brochures onto the counter then fan your hands over them like Vana White.   
“I made sure everyone knew there was a new couple in town.” You say with a grin. “I visited 12 charities, 4 different churches, and an Elemntary school to volunteer. They do a pretty extensive background check there so I’m not going to be able to do that one. But all of the places the UnSub goes know that we’re here.”   
“How is it that I worked a full 8 hour day and I still feel like you accomplished more?” He laughs pawing through the pile of brochures.   
“Oh and I talked to three more of the neighbors, that’s everyone on our street, and ran into Tanya again. She said to wear ‘something nice’ and when I asked her to clarify she said 'what you would wear to a business party with Aaron.’ Then laughed. So I have no idea what to wear.”  
“Did you pack a nice black dress?”  
“Of course.”   
“I’ll need to see it otherwise we need to go shopping really quick.” You lead him down the hall and pull the dress out. It’s one of your favorites, black with a fuller skirt and tight torso that goes to a sweetheart neckline with small sleeves. “That will work fine.”  
“I should get ready now, do I wear heels?”   
“If you have them.” You nod and he leaves you to change. You twist your dark hair up into a French twist then wipe off all your make up and start over ending with a red lip stain. No lipstick, you don’t want to get it on your glass or on Aaron. You sigh and slip on your heels, it’s ten to six when you meet Aaron in the living room.   
“Ready?” You ask softly, he turns and stares at you for a second too long. “What? Is it too much?”  
“No,” he says absently, “no you look great.” He offers you his arm and you take it with a laugh. “I have my keys. Where would your gun be?”  
“Wouldn’t you like to know?” You tease. It’s attached to your leg via a holster, “where’s yours?”  
“Ankle.”  
“Ah. How could I forget?” You laugh softly as the two of you make your way down the sidewalk to the street. A car pulls up and two nicely dressed people climb out.   
“Aaron! I didn’t know you were coming tonight.” The man says grinning at the two of you. “Janet this is Aaron O'Brian our newest member. Aaron my wife Janet.”  
“Pleasure.” She says with a soft smile.   
“Nice to meet you. This is my wife Charlotte, Charlotte this is Don Ford he’s one of the head partners at my new firm.”  
“It’s a pleasure to meet you.” You say as he takes your hand and kisses it.   
“You’re a lucky man Aaron. She’s a pretty thing.” You tighten your grip on Aaron’s arm in irritation and be places his free hand over yours.   
“Believe me Don, I know.” He smiles down at you and you can’t help but return the gesture. “Shall we?” He asks and you follow Don and Janet up to the front door. Judging by the number of cars in the driveway it’s going to be a long night.


	5. Chapter 5

The dinner is more fun than you expected, you and Aaron are the youngest couple there, with him in his early 40’s and you in your late 30’s you stand out in this crowd. Except for one other man the rest of the party consists of couples in their early to mid 50’s. After the meal the women split off from the men and move further into the living room while the men stick around the bar they have near the dining room.   
“So Charlotte,” one of the women, Mary, says, “how long have you and Aaron been married?”  
“Six years.” You say with a small smile.  
“Where did you meet?”  
“College. We’ve been friends for years and dated other people but never really saw one another like that until about ten years ago.”  
“How much older than you is he?” Janet asks, “if you don’t mind me asking of course.”   
“Five years.” You glance over at him with a small smile only to meet his eyes.   
“He’s obviously crazy about you.” The fifth woman, Shannon, says with a small laugh “He can’t take his eyes off of you.”  
“Sometimes it’s like we just got married.” You laugh softly. “He’s too good to me.” A couple of the women awe quietly and you can’t help but grin. Selling this whole marriage thing is too easy with Aaron. Three hours later you stifle yet another yawn and glance over at Aaron. He tilts his head toward the door and you nod. He excuses himself from the conversation and comes over.   
“Excuse me ladies, it’s been a long few days and I’m exhausted. You ready to go Charlie?”  
“Whenever you are.” You say looking up at him.   
“Let me find Greg to let him know we’re going. Five minutes.” He does something then that completely shocks you. He bends down and presses his lips to yours in a quick kiss. It’s nothing super romantic or crazy passionate, more a sweet everyday show of affection but it sends you reeling.   
“Oh that was so sweet.” Sue says after Aaron leaves the room. “I wish Greg was still that sweet to me but after almost 32 years of marriage there’s not a lot of spark left.”  
“Brent and I make sure to have date nights every other week. Sometimes we rent a hotel room to just be alone for the night.” Shannon comments. The other women start to chime in on how they keep their marriages going when Aaron comes to claim you again.   
“Thank you so much for the invitation Sue. It’s so wonderful to feel like we belong so quickly after moving in.”   
“I’m so glad you could make it.” She hugs you quickly then you take Aaron’s hand and head home.   
“So,” you say when you’re halfway across the street, “what was that all about?” You don’t have to elaborate, you know he knows what you’re talking about.   
“Sorry. The single guy, Nathan, was talking about how hot you were all night and I wanted to remind him that you were with me.”  
“Oh.” You’re not sure why this disappoints you so much.   
“What?”  
“Nothing. I was just curious.”  
“You sure?” He unlocks the door and motions you inside.  
“Yea. I think I’m just tired.”   
“I hear you.” He locks the door again and turns on the security system. The two of you get ready for bed, Aaron takes a shower and you curl up under the covers of the bed. You close your eyes and try to process what the hell you’re feeling when he comes out of the bathroom. You keep your eyes closed and back to him, your breathing is even. He stays quiet. Clicking off the light you feel the bed dip as he slides in next to you. Then he does the second thing that surprises you that night. He slides up next to you and curls around you, Aaron Hotchner is spooning you and you’ve never felt safer.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Smut Warning

Two weeks fly by, both you and Aaron are on high alert now, you’re in the kill window. You find yourself at home on that second Friday night, you’ve poured yourself a large glass of wine and Aaron had a glass of whisky he was nursing as you sat on the couch. You’re buzzed for sure, that has to be what makes you look over at him and say, “Aaron?”  
“Hm?” He doesn’t look up from the file you assume he’s reading on his iPad. Just because the two of you are here doesn’t mean that the rest of the team has stopped working cases.   
“Will you kiss me again?” That gets his attention.   
“What?” He asks you, those brown eyes staring into your green ones.   
“Will you kiss me again?” He doesn’t say anything so you stand up off the couch and go sit on his lap in the armchair. He doesn’t stop you, just stares up at you as you run finger from the side of his forehead down to his jaw. You can feel a days worth of scruff under your finger, you slowly drop your head until your mouth is only a breath away from his, before you can close the gap he whispers.   
“Charlie.” He practically begs with that one word. You press your mouth to his, this seems to break him. You hear a thump as the tablet falls from his hand, his hands come up to tangle in your hair, pulling your mouth closer to his, if it’s possible. You have one hand on the back of his neck and the other on his chest, just over his heart, you can feel it pounding as fiercely as yours is. You pull away from him, “Charlie.” He groans then burns a trail down the side of your neck. He nips the skin between your jaw and ear and you gasp.   
“Aaron.” He looks up at you and you capture his lips with your own again. You slip your tongue into his mouth and taste the whiskey he’s been drinking. You didn’t know you liked whiskey until now. He groans into your mouth as he unbuttons your pants. You tug his shirt off as he pushes at your pants, you move off his lap enough for him to get your pants down you undo his pants and he stands, lifting you with him and you’re surprised at his strength when he holds you with one had to shove his pants and boxers down. He sits back in the chair and you turn your body so that you’re straddling his lap. He yanks your shirt off over your head while you yank your underwear off. He unhooks your bra and palms one of your nipples causing you to groan. You arch against him and he moves then he’s there. You’re a perfect fit. But why would you have ever thought any differently? He lets you set the pace, grinding your body down on his, he nips at your nipple and your breathing becomes more erratic. When you finish the world seems to spin around you, Aaron grinds into you a few more times then with a groan goes still. You drop your head to his shoulder and stay there as you both catch your breath.   
“Charlie.” He whispers when his breathing is back to normal.   
“Mmm?” You hum keeping your head on his shoulder.  
“We should talk about this.”  
“What is there to talk about?”  
“I don’t want to loose you.” You pull away from him, “you’re my closest friend. Jack loves you. If this was a mistake-”  
“Sometimes you’re so dense Hotch.” You whisper into his ear kissing below it. “I’m not going anywhere.”


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Smut

The next morning you wake up tangled in Aaron. His bare chest pressed against yours, your leg wrapped around his. When he sees you’re awake he moves his leg causing it to brush against you.  
“Fuck Aaron.” You hiss, as your hips jerk involuntarily.  
“Oh you want to?” He grins mischievously at you then rolls so he’s above you. He’s holding himself above you with his forearms on the bed and his knees between your legs. You grin then kiss his neck, then his jaw, then you whisper in his ear.  
“Yea I want to.” That seems to be all it takes. His fingers brush against you causing your hips to buck again and he laughs softly. “Quit being a tease.” You growl and he kisses you gently, then he’s filling you. You wrap your legs around his waist pulling him closer to you. It doesn’t take long, you finish together, you crying out his name. You don’t hear what he says you’re so lost in your own feelings.  
“God you’re perfect.” He growls into your ear. You bring his mouth to yours and kiss him softly.  
“You’re not bad yourself.” You say between kisses. “We have to get up.”  
“We don’t have to do anything.” He rolls off of you and pulls you to his side. You trace a finger across one of his scars.  
“Do you really want to be attacked while we’re both naked?”  
“Good point.” He groans then kisses the top of your head. “Shower?”  
“You go ahead. I’ll check in with Penelope.”  
He nods and heads to the bathroom you grab your phone from the nightstand and call Garcia.  
“Hey.” She says when she answers. “Did you know that the house you’re staying at has surveillance? Not in the bedrooms or bathrooms but the living room.”  
“Oh my god.”  
“Don’t worry I deleted it. I had to kinda guess how long you were at it but I need to know every juicy detail.”  
“When we get home Garcia.”  
“Promise? Cuz it looked like it was gonna get hot.” You can’t help but laugh softly.  
“Promise. Now help me out here. Has anything about us popped up on the website?”  
“Yea, just a welcome message. None of the creepy stalker photos yet. Every time they post something I get an alert so I won’t miss anything.”  
“Call me if anything comes up.”  
“Sounds good.” You hang up with her as Aaron is coming out of the bathroom.  
“Anything?”  
“No. I did find out that there are video cameras in the living room though.”  
“Shit.”  
“Yea. So Penelope knows what happened but she said she deleted to footage.”  
“Well if Garcia knows Morgan knows.”  
“And if Morgan knows Rossi probably does.” You add.  
“Yup, and if Rossi knows Reid probably does.”  
“Oh and Garcia definitely told JJ.”  
“Who told Prentiss.”  
“So there’s no way the whole team doesn’t know.” You say with a small smile.  
“Good.”  
“Good?”  
“I don’t like hiding things from the team and now I can do this,” He captures you lips in a deep kiss. “any time I want.”


	8. Chapter 8

Three more days have passed without so much a threat against you or Aaron. You’ve almost hit the three week mark.   
“So,” you say as the two of you are eating dinner that third Tuesday night. “Are we a couple?” Please say yes. Please please say yes.   
“I’d like to be.” You let out a breath that you weren’t even aware you were holding. “That’s what you want isn’t it?” He asks looking at you, suddenly seeming concerned.   
“Yea.” you confirm, “yea that’s what I want.”  
“Good.” He looks darkly at you and you know exactly what he’s thinking. You’ve seen that look before.   
“Can we at least finish dinner first?” You chuckle.   
“I suppose. Dessert.” He grins.   
“You’re horrible.” You can’t help but laugh, he’s about to respond when the doorbell rings. He pulls his gun out from his ankle and you pull yours out from its holster on your leg.   
“If I don’t call for you in the first minute be ready.” He says moving toward the front door. There’s a few moments of tense silence then he calls, “Charlie?” You shove your gun back into the holster, straiten your skirt and head to the front of the house.  
“Oh,” you say as you come around the corner, “hey Sue? Everything okay?”  
“Well hun no.” She says looking distressed, “You know how we have that bake sale for Kids Klub tomorrow?” You nod and she continues, “Well we’re running real far behind and were hoping you could come give us a hand.”   
“Oh yea it’s no problem. Do you need me to bring anything?”  
“No just come on. I hope you don’t mind Aaron.” She smiles at him.   
“It’s alright.” He kisses you quickly, “I’ll clean up from dinner. We can save dessert for later?”  
“Thank you babe. Yea either tonight or tomorrow on the dessert. The recipe says that it will keep well.”   
“Okay. Have fun.”  
“Love you.” You shut the door behind you and are thankful that it’s already dusk because you’re blushing and you don’t want Sue to see. You glance over your shoulder and you see Aaron staring after you, that same intense look on his face.   
Three hours later all of the goods have been made and are waiting to be baked, you have four trays in your arms as you and Tanya make your way down the dimly lit street. She has four trays of her own,   
“Make sure that Aaron gets that light fixed by Monday or the housing committee will fine you.” Tanya says as she heads up her front walk.   
“Oh thank you!” You say turning away. You wait until you’re sure that she’s gone inside then you set the trays down and pull your gun. Aaron would never let this light burn out, he’d pull another lightbulb from inside the house first. You push the door open and move into the house on silent feet.   
“When she gets back you can have first crack at her.” It makes you sick, hearing them discussing you like that. You peer around the corner and see the two men and Aaron, who is tied and gagged in the bedroom.


	9. Chapter 9

You move back to the security system and punch in the silent alarm that will go directly to the FBI base. You slide through the house as quietly as you can. Ducking into the bathroom you listen for your opening. Right now they have Aaron as a hostage and that could have only happened if they had at least one weapon.   
“Where is she?” One of the UnSubs growls.   
“Why don’t you go look?” The other responds sounding impatient, “I’ll stay here and watch Mr. Tough guy O'Brian.” Good. They don’t know the two of you are FBI and they’re splitting up. You stay still as the first UnSub walks past the bathroom, you move quietly into the bedroom gun up, you press the gun to the UnSubs head.   
“Put it down.” He drops the weapon with a loud clatter then turns on you. He takes a swipe at you with his left fist that you dodge. You catch him in the gut with your left fist. When he doubles over you follow up with a knee to his face. He curses up at you from the floor. It’s then you hear a rush of movement behind you. You turn, see the second UnSub gun aimed directly at you and fire. He hits the ground with a thud, you kick his gun away from his hand and move back to his partner whose bleeding on the floor.   
“FBI. You’re under arrest for the rape and murders of Mary Alotte, Elodie Westin, Marta Henderson and Christine Dobel. As well as the murders of James Alotte, Christian Westin, Daniel Henderson and Davis Dobel. And for the assault and kidnapping of an FBI agent.” You pull your cuffs out of a drawer and handcuff the surviving UnSub. “Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to an attorney, if you cannot afford an attorney one will be appointed for y-” there’s a loud crash from the front room. Another UnSub?  
“FBI!”   
“Back here! We need a medic!” You call, “subject has been detained!” Derek still comes in gun up and looking deadly. He checks the pulse of the UnSub you shot then stands.   
“Take care of Hotch. I’ll get this guy out of here.”  
“I want to see his face.” You say moving away from him and starting on the gag over Aaron’s mouth. Derek pulls the mask up and you’re surprised to see that you don’t recognize him.   
“He’s one of the maintenance guys that works for the development.” Hotch says sounding raspy.   
“Derek do you have your knife? These ropes are really tight.” JJ and Spencer have entered the room by now and when your eyes meet JJ’s she gives you a knowing smile.   
“Here.” Reid offers up his knife and you give him a grateful smile then free Aaron’s hands. He rubs feeling back into them as you close Reid’s knife and pass it back.   
“How bad are the burns?” You ask not looking, you know they’re there. He would have done anything to get himself loose. Derek has dragged the UnSub out of the room by now and read him his rights for a second time, since you didn’t finish.   
“I’m fine.”   
“Aaron.” You say in a low warning tone, “don’t lie to me.” You catch one of his hands in yours and sure enough there are angry red rope burns around each wrist. “You’re getting those checked.”   
“Fine.” JJ and Reid have left the room during this little exchange and Aaron pulls you to him. “Thank god you’re okay.” He whispers taking a deep breath. You wrap your arms around him and sigh.   
“Thank god you’re okay. When I saw the light out I was so worried.”  
“We’re both okay.” He murmurs.   
“What’s going to happen now? When we go back to Charlotte Hooper and Aaron Hotchner?”  
“We make it work. We were still us Charlie. I never faked anything with you.” You sigh into his chest then look up at him. He kisses you quickly then you move away from one another.   
“Let’s get those wrists checked.” You say leading him out of the bedroom you had shared. If anyone could make this work it was the two of you.   
Right?


	10. Chapter 10

It had been almost a month since you and Aaron went back to your normal lives. You stayed over at his apartment a few nights a week, it was closer to work. Aaron was right, not much has changed in the relationship. Cases are a little different because working together can be hard but knowing that you don’t have to worry about him because you’ve got his back is a great feeling. He’s still too reckless though, which drives you crazy. It’s one of those mornings that you stay at his place you wake first. You stretch loudly and Aaron groans.   
“No. Not yet.” He says wrapping and arm around your waist and pulling you close to him.   
“If we don’t get up now we’re going to be late and you know the whole team will notice.” You say with a laugh, you turn around in his arms and kiss him. “Morgan will defiantly comment about morning sex being so naughty.”  
“Not to me he won’t.” Morgan wouldn’t dare.  
“But Dave will.” You point out and he groans again.   
“Fine. But just so you know. Jack is staying at a friends tonight.” You laugh and run your fingers through his hair. He closes his eyes and hums as your fingernails slide across his skull. You slip out of bed then and hurry to the bathroom, you lock the door before he can slip in and climb into the shower. Your head is pounding, it has been for a couple of days but you haven’t said anything to Aaron. You have a doctors appointment this morning so hopefully you’ll be able to get some medication for them. When you’re done showering you finish getting ready then take over breakfast prep so Hotch can go shower. Jack, like his father, is not a morning person so he doesn’t say much other than grumble a good morning. When Hotch comes back into the kitchen you say.  
“I’ve got an appointment this morning so I’ll be late.”  
“Alright. You ready Jack?”   
“Almost.” He runs off to his room and Aaron snags a piece of toast, kisses you then heads out to the car.   
A half hour later you’re sitting on the examination table at the doctor. She comes in and sits down. She looks at the sheet then up at you.   
“I don’t know how else to tell you this but you’re pregnant.”  
You don’t know how you get back to the FBI building you’re in that much of a daze. It’s not that you’re not happy, it’s just that you never thought it was possible, you’d resigned yourself to that fact. You step off of the subway train and head up to the FBI building. You don’t stop in the bullpen. You go directly to Hotch’s office. You close the door and he looks up.   
“Hey.” He says with a smile before he registers the look on your face. “What is it what’s wrong?” You sit down in the chair across from him.   
“My appointment was the doctor.” You look up at him to see worry written clearly on his face, “I-I’m..” You take a steadying breath, “Aaron I’m pregnant.” Your heart is pounding and you’re breathing like you just ran a marathon. He doesn’t say anything for a while. He just looks at you. “Please say something.” You whisper as tears fill your eyes.  
“Are you okay?” His first question sort of surprises you but considering you’re sitting in his office crying it probably shouldn’t have.   
“Honestly I’m in shock. I have been told that I can’t have kids for so long that now that I’ve been told I’m pregnant I guess I don’t know how to react.” He nods.   
“I can understand that.” He stands and comes around to your side of the desk. He kneels down in front of you and takes both of your hands in his. “Tell me what you need from me Charlie, and you’ve got it.”  
“I want you in this 100%.”   
“Good.” With gentle hands he wipes the tears off of your face. “Now I have a question for you. I was going to ask you this before and just to prove it I have this,” he digs a hand into his pocket, “I want you to move in with Jack and I.” He pulls a key out and holds it on his open palm.   
“What about Jack? Is he going to be okay with this?”  
“We talked about it this morning. He’s very excited because you make the best pancakes.” He smiles up at you, a sweet smile, the kind where the left side of his mouth goes up more than the right side. You pluck the key off of his palm and kiss him.   
“I’d love to move in. It will have to be next month though, I need to give my landlord the notice that I’ll be moving out.”  
“Maybe when my lease gets closer to being up we can look for a house.” Aaron says softly. “You’ll be almost 8 months by then.”  
“So I’ll be out of the field.”  
“I’d take you out of the field right now if I knew you wouldn’t fight me tooth and nail on it.”  
“Start of the second trimester. I don’t want the team to think that something is up until we hit that point.”  
“Your body might react differently to this because it wasn’t prepared at all. I want you to take it easy Charlie.” He places a gentle hand on your stomach, “We have to do everything we can to keep both of you safe okay?” You look down at him and see the concern flicker through his eyes.   
“I’ll be safe Aaron. I promise.”


	11. Chapter 11

It all happens so fast. Before you know it you’re living in a house with Jack and Aaron and preparing for your baby girl to come along. You’re 8 months pregnant and Hotch doesn’t even like you flying out with the team. You understand but it still sucks to be stuck at Quantico while they’re out there kicking ass.   
“Charlie you there?” Derek asks from the phone in your hand.  
“Yea sorry. I was tuning out so I didn’t have to hear all that mush between you and Garcia.” You say with a grin down at Garcia in her chair.   
“Like you and Hotch are any better. Making googily eyes all the time.” Garcia quips.   
“I heard that.” Hotch says from Derek’s side of the phone. He sounds stern but you know he’s probably smiling. Garcia gives you a worried look and you shake your head with a smile. She relaxes and gets to typing.   
“So the picture of the letter you sent me was full of information. Like jam packed.” You say looking at the printout again. “This woman is angry.”   
“That’s what Reid said too. Could you and Garcia match the prints?” Derek says.   
“No.” Garcia responds. “Charlie said that this woman was left handed and probably abandoned by a father figure around the age of 13. Do you think she had a record?”  
“Why 13 Charlie?”  
“I’d say between 12 and 14 because that’s the age that they start to develop romantic feelings. Being abandoned by a strong father figure at that age could really mess with someone.”  
“So Garcia look for women in their late twenties early thirties.”  
“With or without a record?”  
“With.” You and Hotch say at the same time.   
“It’s official. You two spend too much time together.” She chuckles as she fills in the parameters. “What type of distance am I looking at?”  
“No more than thirty miles.” Reid chimes in from the background.   
“Give me two shakes of a stick.” She says then you disconnect. Just as you go to put your phone in your pocket it buzzes. Glancing down at the screen you smirk, Aaron.   
‘You sounded tired.’ He’s been watching you like a hawk, this was a high risk pregnancy and you’re almost done, both of you are relieved that you’ve made it this far.   
'I’m always tired lately’ you write back adding the Z’s emoji.   
'I know. Just three more weeks and we can be tired together.’ He responds with a smiley face emoji.   
“Oh my god you’re talking to him now.” Garcia says looking at you. “He’s not even here and you’re all googily eyed!”  
“Oh shut up Garcia.” You say with a laugh. It’s not your fault that Aaron is basically perfect and knows just what to say to make you smile. “Did you find anyone in the search?”  
“Four possibilities.” She says and you quickly scan the information then point to the third woman.   
“Her. Send that to the team.”


	12. Chapter 12

You and Aaron are enjoying a quiet evening three weeks later when you go into labor. The delivery goes smoothly and you’re able to go home a few hours after.   
“God she’s so beautiful.” You mutter staring down at her in your arms.   
“Just like her mother.” Aaron says softly kissing your temple. You smile as she lets out a big yawn.   
“I think it’s you.” You counter, gently setting your baby girl down in the crib. “I mean Jack is a handsome boy and now our daughter,” you look up at him, “our daughter.” You smile. “Is beautiful.”   
“I still think it’s you.” He whispers as you move into his arms.   
“How about we compromise and agree that it was us?”  
“Deal.” He kisses you gently and you pull away with a smile. It’s late and you’re exhausted, thrilled, terrified, overjoyed and so crazy in love you don’t know what you’re feeling most. “How about a bubble bath?” Aaron asks softly. “I’ll draw it up for you, maybe order some pizza?”  
“As hungry as I am I’d much rather just cuddle in the tub with you. It’s been a while since it was just us.”  
“You remember what the doctor said?”   
“Just sit in the tub with me Aaron. If you really want we can wear swimsuits. I know my post baby body is just soooo tempting.” You laugh gently leading him out of the baby’s room.   
“It is.” He agrees seriously. “I always think you’re beautiful.” He looks at you for a second, just looks then he smiles, “How about I order a pizza, you get in the tub and when the food gets here I’ll join you.”  
“Whose even open this late?”  
“Diego’s.”  
“Oh my god yum. Yes.” You say and Aaron laughs. He kisses you again then turns you around and gently guides you toward the master bath. “I’ll grab the baby monitor too.” He nods then you vanish into the bedroom. The tub was the best idea the two of you had when building this house. It’s basically a small hot tub, deep with jets and enough space for the two of you to comfortably sit under the hot water. You get to introduce Jack to his new baby sister tomorrow, Aaron has asked you to think about adopting Jack. Incase anything ever happens to him you can keep the family together. You haven’t done it yet because you want to ask Jack first. He may only be 8 but you want to make sure he knows you’re not trying to replace his mom. That he can still call you Charlie and not mom. Aaron’s request had actually stunned you, Haley wasn’t really someone he talked about and you knew that deep down he’d always love her. But you also knew that he loved you just as deeply, otherwise he would have never asked you to think about adopting Jack. Not unless he planned on spending the rest of his life with you. With or without a ring, either way you couldn’t be happier. Marriage didn’t mean anything special to you. You’d seen too many vows broken for them to really mean much. What you and Aaron had was more than enough. You sink into the tub of hot water with a sigh. Fifteen minutes later Aaron joins you with the pizza box in his hand. He puts the box on the edge of the tub and wraps you in his arms then kisses your wet temple.   
“Hey,” you say softly looking up at him. “I love you.”  
He kisses you possessively, his lips demanding your soul, you give it willingly.   
“I love you too.” His says against your lips. “I always will.”


End file.
